Preheat oven to 160°C. Measure and prepare all your ingredients. There is much confusion about the difference between a casserole, a stew and a braised dish. These three terms are often used indiscriminately as they all refer to cooking food slowly in liquid in a covered container. After much research, I came to the conclusion that for a casserole, as it is most universally recognised, the food (namely meat) is browned first on the stove top and then simmered with other ingredients in the oven. For a stew, the food is not browned first before it is simmered on the stove top. To braise, the food is browned first and . then simmered on the stove top. Usually, less liquid is used when braising.

Step 2

To cook the casserole, you will need a large, heavy-based ovenproof saucepan or flameproof casserole dish with a lid. An enamelled cast iron pan is ideal as it can be used on both the stove top and in the oven and distributes and holds heat well. There are also many suitable flameproof casserole dishes made of earthenware, glass or ceramic available. If you don't have a saucepan or casserole dish that can be used both on the stove top and in the oven, don't worry. Just transfer the mixture from one to the other after bringing it to the boil in step 5.

Step 3

Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy-based ovenproof saucepan or flameproof casserole dish over medium-low heat and cook the bacon for 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add garlic and cook for a further minute or until aromatic. Remove the bacon mixture from the pan/dish and set aside.

Step 4

Add 1/2 the remaining oil to the saucepan or casserole dish over medium-high heat and cook 1/2 the beef for 1-2 minutes, tossing occasionally, or until browned. Browning the meat will start to develop the flavour as well as add colour to the casserole. Sprinkle the meat with 1/2 the flour and cook for a further minute. The flour is used to thicken the sauce as it cooks. If you don't cook the flour at this stage before adding the other ingredients, an unpleasant raw or floury flavour will be left in the casserole.

Step 5

Remove the beef from the pan/dish and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil, beef and flour. Remove the beef from the pan/dish and set aside.

Step 6

Add the wine to the pan/dish and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute, scraping the base with a wooden spoon to dislodge any residue left on the base of the pan/dish. This is called deglazing. The tasty bits that have accumulated on the base of the pan/dish are incorporated into the sauce in which the meat and vegetables will be cooked, thus adding to the flavour of the casserole.

Step 7

Return the onion mixture and the beef to the pan/dish. Add the stock, mashed tomatoes and carrots, and stir to combine. Bring to the boil over high heat.

Step 8

Cover the pan/dish and cook in preheated oven for 2 hours or until the beef is very tender. An oven temperature of 160°C will ensure the casserole simmers steadily. It is important that it doesn't boil rapidly as the meat will become very tough and stringy. Long, slow cooking of the casserole ensures that the meat is tender and the sauces develop a full-bodied, rich flavour.

Step 9

The main advantage of cooking a dish like this in the oven, as opposed to on the stove top as with a stew, is that there is no chance of the ingredients sticking and burning on the base of the pan/dish.

Step 10

Remove the pan/dish from the oven and use a large metal spoon to skim any excess fat from the surface of the casserole. Season with salt and pepper and then stir through the parsley. Serve with boiled or mashed potato.

Casserole is also the term applied to the covered dish in which food is cooked slowly in the oven. To avoid confusion, we refer to it as a casserole dish in this article. Cuts of meat that are suitable for use in a casserole are those which benefit from long, slow, moist cooking. Beef chuck steak is a good cut to use. It is a tough, less expensive cut of meat with much connective tissue that will soften and become tender if simmered gently over a long period. Even though this connective tissue softens, it will still hold the meat fibre together so that it doesn't disintegrate. Meat cuts like fillet, rump and sirloin are unsuitable as they have little or no connective tissue and will fall apart if cooked in this way. Another advantage of using inexpensive cuts of meat is that they are usually more flavoursome.

Ratings & Comments

Ratings & Comments

YUM!!! I love making stew and it always turns out good but I wanted to try someone else's an dam am I glad I did... This was perfect an full of flavour, I did add a few extra herbs an vegetables but I doubt it changed the recipe much. This's will be my go to stew for now on..! Even my fussy 7yr old devoured it. THANK YOU!!!

MissAmy6 replied at
07:32pm Thu 7th May, 2015

I do realise it's a casserole not a stew but I used the same ingredients but cooked it like a stew! :)

5tensecsam added this comment at
09:25am Tue 10th September, 2013

i have made a few casseroles now ( or what i "interpruted" them to be ) so it was nice to know the difference!
The only thing I did differently was add extra garlic
( cause i LUV it-much to my husbands disgust:) )
and mushies just before the garlic! YUM YUM YUM
Compared to some other more "involved" casseroles, this was pretty much SPOT ON!
Printed and filed for continual use!

4Midgetmouse_1 added this comment at
08:40pm Tue 20th August, 2013

Tasted great used wholemeal flour and this thicken it up added capsicum mushroom and thyme .Will become a family favourite

5lorettamm added this comment at
02:10pm Wed 10th July, 2013

Although the instructions are very long winded it is super easy. I fed 5 from 6 years old to 91 and everyone loved it. Delicious!

5iain616 added this comment at
01:01pm Sun 6th January, 2013

I cook variation of this recipe al the time and use a pressure cooker and chuck steak. Also great as a savoury pie filling. 5 stars.

5laurendanielle added this comment at
03:40pm Thu 26th January, 2012

Really simple and hearty meal. I did find it a little bland but with a little salt and extra beef stock it turned out lovely! I added some left over capsicum and mushies as well to use them up. All in all, really pleased with it and will definitely make it again!!

5Stace73 added this comment at
08:45am Mon 21st June, 2010

This is a real winner. I also put some celery in it too. The instructions are a bit long winded at first though.

5chet added this comment at
06:15pm Thu 18th June, 2009

absolutely delicious...simmered it for 3 hours...warmed it up the next day and had it the over for one hour...added mushrooms...served with rice...

54everafoodie added this comment at
07:33pm Sat 6th December, 2008

Everyone needs a recipe like this in their collection. Great basic cooking, plenty of options to make it your own. I used rump steak as it was what I had. Added mushrooms & peas. DH says it reminds him of his Mum's cooking.

4.5Rin123 added this comment at
08:06am Thu 29th May, 2008

Great easy recipe but the flavour was a bit bland and the sauce was very thin, I added fresh thyme and cornflour to thicken, also added mushrooms.

4.5Rin123 added this comment at
08:06am Thu 29th May, 2008

Great easy recipe but the flavour was a bit bland and the sauce was very thin, I added fresh thyme and cornflour to thicken, also added mushrooms.

5jmbau added this comment at
10:27am Mon 19th May, 2008

This is a great recipe. Made it on a cold day with chuck beef - delish. It's one of those easy to make, just put it together & leave it to cook in the oven ones. The beef cooks down to that lovely fall-apart tenderness, the sauce is mopped up with mashed potato... Towards the end I did add in some red lentiles because the sauce was a bit thin & needed thickening a bit, but perhaps I had added too much red wine!
And the extra info & explanations were really helpful. This will become one of my basic recipes, capable of endless variation but just lovely.